House considers bill authorizing University of North Carolina System pay cuts
(The Center Square) – The North Carolina House is considering a bill that would authorize the University of North Carolina System to make salary and workforce cuts in response to COVID-19 financial losses.
House Bill 243 would allow the system’s president or university chancellors to temporarily reduce employee salaries by no more than 20% or a less than $45,000 annually. It also would allow system leaders to launch an early retirement program.
UNC System officials have said the system could lose about $300 million by the end of fiscal year 2021, which ends June 30, because of COVID-19.
Nate Knuffman, vice chancellor for finance and operations for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told faculty leaders in September that most of the losses are from housing, dining, parking, campus health and athletics.
If HB 243 becomes law, system officials would be able to cut pay or offer employees unpaid leave until December 2022. The UNC System has about 48,000 employees, according to its website.
The bill would allow officials to bypass the required approval from the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources for layoffs. The UNC System Office also would be required to create an early retirement incentive program under the bill up until the same time.
HB 243 would authorize the system to use other funding sources outside of the state to cover State Health Plan premiums for furloughed employees.
UNC System representatives did not respond Thursday to requests for comment. The system has received more than $700 million in federal aid, according to the General Assembly Fiscal Research Division.
The UNC Board of Governors “could not provide more than 12 months of employee premium payments for employees on furlough between June 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021,” according to the bill.
Most of the system’s revenue comes from other sources. In fiscal year 2018-19, the system’s revenue was $12.7 billion, with $5.1 billion from the state’s general revenue funds. The UNC system has a base state budget of about $3.2 billion.
The bill cleared the House Committee on Education – Universities on Thursday. It must be approved by a full vote in both chambers of the General Assembly before being sent to Gov. Roy Cooper for final approval.
Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square
